Well, its come in, its too dark now still to get any good snow pictures. but here are a few from hiking down alum cave trail and back up yesterday. it rained... ALL day yesterday. about 8pm it turned to sleet and about 10pm to snow. its still snowing, maybe about 3 inches on the ground, and no signs of letting up. The Temperature went up to about 35 around noon yesterday and is currently at 9. There was still lots of ice on the trail, though some melted with the rain, im sure only to be refrozen by now. dangerous. As of now the road to Alum has been closed because of ice, also.

Jo

12/5/2010 01:35:28 am

Thanks again for the pics Alex!! They are all beautifull! We have hiked many trails in the smoky's but have not been to Leconte yet. We plan to hike up next summer even tho we would love to see it in the winter. (too inexperienced to try in ice/snow!!!) Enjoy!!!

Jen

12/5/2010 02:23:02 am

Good Morning Alex! Thanks for the update about the trail...I wish you had better news about conditions though! We are currently looking into other trails for our 3 day hike starting tomorrow. Would love to visit the lodge at some point though...may have to wait to milder conditions!

jim

12/5/2010 06:02:33 am

Alex,Enjoying the daily updates and photos. I'm a snow and ice fanatic from florida, so the more extreme, the better. We're making the hike up to the shelter dec. 29th, coming over the boulevard. This will be my 4th winter hike up Leconte, all previous had a damp warm southern flow. I hope this weather pattern holds.

Nina Heumann

12/5/2010 10:27:33 am

Hi, just checking the web on behalf of my two AT thru-hikers who are hunkered down at Icewater shelter tonight on the other side of 441. I see you are closed for the winter but if you are at Le Conte available for contact I can relay a message

Nina

12/5/2010 10:48:21 am

PS. They had intended to get to Gatlinburg tonight but think they will be ok. They have down pads and food at Icewater. They are just wondering how soon the road will be open. My number is 818 523 8040. Thanks for the posting the photos. They are great.

Chad

12/6/2010 12:27:57 am

Guess I got the snow I was hoping for... the hike down Alum with all that pristine powder was amazing. And thanks for the ginger tea. Have a good winter.

Tim Massey

12/6/2010 02:18:29 am

These Daily Posts are what i like most.Alex hughes always has the interesting news. Thanks man,Thanks for the wonderful views!

Nina

12/6/2010 02:50:38 am

Three hikers Sunday night at Icewater shelter report they were comfy enough. 5 degrees. Some noisy wind. Hiking out to Newfound gap/441 this morning. According to ranger, the toad to NC side is open (at least to downhill traffic). The TN side still closed due to ice and snow.

Nina

12/6/2010 03:56:23 am

Update to last post: have been told 441 has been cleared from Newfound down to both NC and TN. Beautiful scenery!

Dana P

12/6/2010 05:59:15 am

Even tho I used to work for Veg Mgmt, I could never get used to the COLD weather and still not a fan of it. Give me sand, surf and the sun. All I can say is BBBBBRRRRRR..it's even cold in west TN today.

Brad

12/6/2010 11:53:59 pm

I traveled accross 441 Sat night before they closed the roads. The bathrooms at Newfound Gap were very erie with no one else in the parking lot or area.

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LeConte Lodge

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